TROUTS LATEST PHOTOS
September, 2005 – Issue #52
BOB AND CAMILLE MAKING THEMSELVES AT HOME
ABOVE THE CROWD
We always wondered what it might be like to live in the middle of a small town. Our apartment is on the second floor behind the second group of windows from the left. While there is a fair amount of activity during the day, it gets pretty quiet in the evening. For more pictures of our new town, go to Our Town.
The biggest benefit is that we don’t have to drive very often. We are within walking distance of work and shopping. We use the car once or twice a week to visit family and friends.
OUT VISITING
On September 5th, we went to see our friends Rob and Sharyl. Rob and Bob are trying to figure out why the hood on our “new” car won’t latch. Smoky, the cat, holds down the sidewalk behind them.
THE BOYS
Silver is expressing deep satisfaction as Sharyl scratches his chest. Every horse has a “sweet spot” which can be used to reward them for being a good horse. Monty is giving Camille “that look” which typically means, “What!?” He is probably wondering when she’ll stop fiddling with the camera and feed him something. He has a long face which has been made even longer by the angle of the camera.
SETTING HIM FREE
Sharyl does the honors by taking Monty’s halter off after a good ride.
DOG HEAVEN
Tim and Margie invited us to share an afternoon at a nearby lake on September 17th. Their two dogs knew just what to do. As soon as they were released from the truck, the ran straight into the water!
PADDLE BOARDS
The dogs weren’t going to be the only ones enjoying the water on this warm fall day.
Bob and Tim carry the boards down to the water along a path that has been beaten into powder by the dogs, who have made at least a dozen trips from the truck to the lake and back.
PATIO IN THE ROUGH
We were soon nestled quite happily among the seedlings and there was hummus among us. Margie made
all kinds of snacks and we brought beer to go with them. Our blue lawn chairs are exactly the same chairs we had on Little Corn Island.
ENIGMA WEED DE-MYSTIFIED
Ever since encountering this flowering shrub in abundance at the lake we have been seeing it everywhere! After hours of attempting to identify it on the computer, I posted a plea for identification.
A big thanks to Margie’s friend, Karen for putting me out of my misery with the following information: “The photo of the yellow flowered bush is rabbitbrush or Chrysothamnus (new scientific name is Ericameria). It is a native shrub here in Colorado and is a fall bloomer.”
According to Utah State University, which calls it Rubber Rabbitbrush – “American Indians made chewing gum from pulverized wood and bark. It was also used as tea, cough syrup, yellow dye, and for chest pains. It is a small commercial source for rubber extraction, and was studied extensively during World War II as a substitute for commercial rubber.”
BIKE CLINIC
Bob doesn’t get much time around the house, and when he does there are often chores for him to do. Like fix our bike tires. On this day he found at least 7 “goat head” punctures in one tire. As a defense, he is installing a plastic barrier and liberal amounts of green “slime.”
TEST DRIVE
After the holes were patched, we rode our bikes to the pond up the street. All we had to do was sit down with our bag of stale molasses cookies and the ducks started heading our way.
Bob asks the ducks a few questions before getting down to business.
He has their rapt attention. Their bills follow the motion of his hand as he flings cookies into the water.
COMMUTERS
Bob on his 8AM commute path. It takes him less than 5 minutes to carry his computer across the tracks to work.
Amy shows off her first car. It is a four-door model with plenty of room for friends and will make it easy for her to get to school and dance lessons.
FALL FESTIVAL
A traditional weekend celebration complete with historical re-enactments in the cemetery.
And a party in the park. For more glimpses of this day and other aspects of small town life, check out Our Town.
SPEAKING OF TRADITION
Bob opens presents with Amy and Molly in our living room on his 47th birthday, September 25.
Pina coladas on the back deck were part of the agenda. As well as a trip to the movie house to see “The Corpse Bride,” some birthday shopping, dinner, brownies and ice cream. The empty chair belongs to the photographer, below.
The photographer was the only one who smiled in the picture she took using the automatic timer.
FLOWER POWER
Molly’s favorite goose was part of an event in which local artists crafted and donated 10 different geese which were then bought by local businesses to support a local charity.
THIS MONTH’S QUOTE:
“Like almost everybody else, I am hooked to the energy corporations, which I do not admire. I hope to become less hooked to them. In my work, I try to be as little hooked to them as possible. As a farmer, I do almost all of my work with horses. As a writer, I work with pencil or a pen and a piece of paper.” – Wendell Berry